Former KU football player, one of four charged in May 2013 robbery, sentenced to probation

It wasn’t until Christopher Omigie, a 23-year-old former Kansas University football player, was already driving his friends toward a west Lawrence home last year that they told him they planned to rob an alleged drug dealer, Omigie’s defense attorney said Friday in court.

“What do I do?” Omigie’s attorney, James Brun, said. Unfortunately, Brun said, Omigie didn’t stop the car and call police. Instead, he continued toward the home in the 1900 block of Camelback Drive, where the car’s three other occupants — former KU players Christopher Martin and Jeremiah Edwards, and Joshua Edwards — allegedly took cash and marijuana from a 25-year-old KU student.

District Judge Paula Martin sentenced Omigie to one year of probation on Friday, which he will serve while pursuing graduate school in Texas. Omigie pleaded guilty in January to an amended charge of felony theft, reduced from his initial aggravated robbery charge.

Omigie, who now lives in Texas, was arrested months after the May incident. Jeremiah Edwards was sentenced to three years of probation in October, and Joshua Edwards was sentenced to two years of probation in August. Martin, meanwhile, avoided trial after he pleaded guilty last month to felony robbery, a charge reduced from aggravated robbery. Martin admitted to taking less than $100 in cash in addition to marijuana from Marcus Folks, the KU student. Initial police reports suggested Martin and three other men robbed Folks at gunpoint.

When Omigie pleaded guilty to felony robbery in January, part of the plea agreement stipulated that he would have testified against Martin in a trial. After pleading guilty, Omigie admitted to being an “accomplice to stealing weed and money.”

Omigie played football at KU as a junior in 2012 but was not listed on the team's roster entering 2013. On Friday, Omigie said he is on track to graduate from KU with a general studies degree and plans to go to graduate school at Angelo State University in Texas.

“Good for you,” Martin said.

Omigie’s sentencing leaves just one more hearing in the May 2013 robbery case. Martin, now free on a $35,000 bond and taking classes at a New Mexico college, will return to Douglas County for sentencing on April 4. He faces between 31 and 136 months depending on his criminal history and is eligible for probation, for which his attorney has asked.

The amended charge against Martin that was agreed upon after plea negotiations makes no reference to a weapon being used and prosecutors are not asking that Martin register as a violent offender.